Prometeia and hose condensation

[bmg]

I've just read the overclockers.com Prometeia review and especially the user comments. I'm not really worried about condensation in the processor area, since I think that can be dealt with without much trouble. What concerns me is a couple of reports of moisture in or on the hose. I'd like to get input from current Prometeia users as to whether this is a valid concern, especially if the system is left idling for long periods of time.

[TheDude]

I heard from MrIcee that it is not a problem as long as you use the HALT option. That correct Randi?
I had to rewrap my Vapochill hose to prevent this..cost me a Video card.:D

[|PuNiSh3R|]

DIY !! DIY!! DIY!!

I wouldn't pay no 600 bux for that crap.. ALthough I shouldn't speak because I want to get like 500.00 for my water chiller when it's done.. that is.. if it performs like I hope.. heh ;(

[|PuNiSh3R|]

Ahh.. but u can do a lot more with a water-chiller then you can with direct-die of course.. Even though you won't get AS colds temps as you do with direct-die.. You can still cool multiple things.. unless current pre-fab direct die.. it's just da CPU!!

[Pedro Rocha]

About the condensation issues on Prometeia, I want to share you 2 very helpfull mails from the Chip-con fantastic support tem

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From: "C-C Support" <support@chip-con.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 28, 2002 12:08 AM

Hi' Pedro,

On your question of first signs of condensation:

Inside the hermetic cell: There really aren't any signs on the outside world except, that when it is begin to become flooded inside you might see a tendency of beginning condensation on the bottom of the bracket outside, as the water would produce a better heatconduction than the isolating air inside.

If you want to check for outside condensation, touching the various surfaces to feel if they are damp or cold is always a good sign. Hopefully you don't have this. Depending on the air humidity a smaller or larger temp. difference is acceptable, typically going more than 5 ot 7 degrees below ambient temperature is close to the dew point (as it is called, the point at which the humidity is released from the air).

On the thermal bus a pocket of still standing air between the stocking (protecting the thermal bus) and the insulation itself could be an area of concern when it comes to possible condensation, and certainly the first place to look for it.

By placing a piece of selfadheesive thin insulation material around such a point to eliminate the "airpocket" will cure this emmidiately, even using standard tape will do the trick (but black foam insulation looks better ;).

Kind regards
Steen Hansen
Chip-con ApS

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----- Original Message -----
From: Chip-Con Support
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 10:14 AM
Subject: Re: P4 @3600 -24ºc - how inaccurate can be??

Dear Pedro,

If I understand you correctly, you are getting CPU temperature readings between -24ºC and -8ºC on your IT7-MAX2 with a P4 2800, and these readings are load and idle temperatures, right? If so, these actually corresponds very well with the real-life temperatures we have measured on the back of the CPU, with our lab-thermometers. When idle, the CPU can use as little as 30W, so -24ºC is quite normal.
Too good to be true? Probably not.
Impressive? Yep! ;)

About the condensation issues. As long as the hermetic cell is hermetically sealed, no condensation will form inside it, and if you are experiencing condensation buildup inside the hermetic cell, you have made an error when you mounted the cooler onto your Mainboard.
If you are experiencing condensation buildup on the outside of the upper bracket, isolating the brackets from the surrounding air with sealstring will usually solve this. Alternatively, we now offer a heating element to mount inside the rear-bracket, which eliminates condensation buildup on the rear-bracket, motherboard PCB and upper mounting bracket in high-humidity ambient conditions.
We can sell you one of these for 25 Euro, if you're interested.

Finally, not letting the CPU run idle, will most probably solve the condensation issues.Having software like Prime95, seti @ home, MBM4 CPU-Heatup, RC5 or similar running all the time, should take care of it.


Best regards,
Martin Goldmann
Support Department
Chip-Con ApS

[Raptor]

it's true, i got a lot of problems with condensation on the Hose, but that migh has been repared in the latest prometeia revisions...

[MrIcee]

My experiences for the last 6-8 weeks has found no condensation whatsoever on the hoses or the micro-freezer. We are talking evap temps at idle of -48c and cpu idle temps ranging from -18 to -26c depending on which cpu is used (T-bred/nonT-bred) and at what CPU Mhz/Vcore. Under any of the above conditions here in upstate NY I have not observed any kind of condensation on any part of the Proms hose or Micro-Freezer to date.:)

Randi:D

[TheDude]

Thanks,

That's good to hear as I finally broke down and ordered one. It should arrive 1st of next month:D

[MrIcee]

Originally posted by TheDude
I heard from MrIcee that it is not a problem as long as you use the HALT option. That correct Randi?
I had to rewrap my Vapochill hose to prevent this..cost me a Video card.:D

I want to clarify the above statement by my friend TheDude because I believe he misunderstood my reference to the HALT command. My reference to the HALT command had nothing to do with the subject of evaporator hose condensation. It was more aimed at the fact that your cpu temps AND evaporator temps will go DOWN(colder) if with an AMD system you utilize the HALT command.

I have never had an issue with condensation on the Micro-freezer NOR the hose on my system at all whether I had HALT enabled or diabled:)

Randi:D

[TheDude]

Sorry about the mix up there...I think the comment was made in a thread about Hose condensation, causing me to think it was related? Anyway..didn't mean to attribute the wrong statement to you. You are exactly right, my bad. Here is the post that I misunderstood:

No condensation issues at all with the Evap on the Prometeia

With HALT command enabled on my Athlon XP 1700+ I saw -48c temp at the Evap and -25c cpu temps at 2094Mhz. With the T-Bred cpu which runs much hotter...I still see -48c at the evap but only -17c with the HALT command enabled. Of course if you don't use the HALT command your realized temps will be much higher.

Randi

[Pedro Rocha]

About the condensation issues on Prometeia:

As long as the hermetic cell is hermetically sealed, no condensation will form inside it

In the past I experienced some condensation buildup inside the hermetic cell, because I have made an error when I mounted the cooler onto the MB.

To check for outside condensation, touching the various surfaces to feel if they are damp or cold is always a good sign.

Depending on the air humidity a smaller or larger temp. difference is acceptable, typically going more than 5 ot 7 degrees below ambient temperature is close to the "dew point" (as it is called, the point at which the humidity is released from the air).

On the thermal bus a pocket of still standing air between the stocking (protecting the thermal bus) and the insulation itself could be an area of concern when it comes to possible condensation, and certainly the first place to look for it.

By placing a piece of self-adhesive thin insulation material around such a point to eliminate the "airpocket" will cure this immediately, even using standard tape will do the trick .

I think I managed to get the hermetic cell is completely sealed and have a very good contact with CPU - Idle less than -24º C (the minimal temperature on the motherboard sensor) and at full load never passed -12º C even a 3.700Mhz.

To eliminate the "airpocket efect" I also put self-adhesive in the thermal bus.

See photo bellow:

http://pprocha1.no.sapo.pt/PromeLI-IsolationTape.jpg

I hope this is helpful to you.

Thanks Steen Hansen & Martin Goldmann from the Chip-con ApS Support team for these tips.

[TheDude]

Pedro Rocha,

Thanks..it is very helpful to me, I will be setting one up soon and want to do it correctly.
:D

[Barracuda]

hi all im a new member here.
i have prometeia
i would like to ask if someone have more comments , pics of a tricks-tips to avoid leak?
cz i had kill 3 mobos :(

thx all

[Hardass]

Welcome to the forums.:)

[ZubZero]

So I see others than me are getting condense with their Prom. I think it's BS that the user have to actually modify the unit, ot BUY an extra heating element to avoid condense. They should have implemented that in the first place... or send to their users for free. Also adding tape on the hose makes it look like §§§§.

Hehe running Prime etc. to avoid condense, is this the stone age? I think Chip-Con should have tested their setup before selling it...

[Pedro Rocha]

Originally posted by ZubZero
So I see others than me are getting condense with their Prom. I think it's BS that the user have to actually modify the unit, ot BUY an extra heating element to avoid condense. They should have implemented that in the first place... or send to their users for free. Also adding tape on the hose makes it look like §§§§.

Hehe running Prime etc. to avoid condense, is this the stone age? I think Chip-Con should have tested their setup before selling it...


As long as the hermetic cell is hermetically sealed, no condensation will form inside it.

In my opinion the extra heating element maybe will be only necessary in very extrement humidity conditions (more than 80% / 90% moisture of the air) , i.e. on near sauna conditions ;)

In the past I experienced some condensation build up inside the hermetic cell, because I have made an error when I mounted the cooler onto the MB.

Now I think I managed to get the hermetic cell completely sealed and have a very good contact with CPU - Idle less than -24º C (the minimal temperature on the motherboard sensor) and at full load never passed -12º C even a 3.700Mhz.

I also have some condensation problems on the thermal bus, I contaced Chip-com and they send me FREE OF CHARGE some very good extra insulation tape (see my updated picture above in this thread).

The condensation on the hose is basicly an issue of the thermal bus not positioned correctly and seats against the side of the PC-case, where the insulation then turns flat, reducing of course the insulation capability.

If someone have this kind of issues contact Chip-con Support and I'm sure they will help you to solve it, as they did in my case.

In my opinion Chip-con has one the best support teams I ever deal in this business. They help me a lot in the past when I have some problems with my Prometeia (even send me mails after dinner or in the weekends, clearly exceeding their professional obligations).

:toast: